Some Kind of a Problem
by omegaw
Summary: During the summer after the battle, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione go to Australia to retrieve Hermione's parents. While Ron and Hermione travel upcountry to find them, Ginny has an accident and loses her memory. To be cured, she cannot get upset.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe belongs to JK Rowling. Anything you recognize is not mine.

Explanation: This takes place in the summer after the battle of Hogwarts. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione go to Australia to retrieve Hermione's parents. While Ron and Hermione travel upcountry to find them, Ginny has an accident and loses her memory. I know it is a cliche. Don't like, don't read. If like, review please?

Some Kind of a Problem

Chapter 1

Healer John Berns had a severe frown on his face, as he left the room of his newest patient in the Morganza Clinicum in Sidney. He always was annoyed if there was no cure for a particular ailment. As a muggle-born who did not have many friends before he started his magical education at the age of 11 because of the strange things which seem to happen around him and who therefore spent a lot of time at home with his TV addicted mother, he had seen more than his share of doctor soaps as a child. He had wondered how all these apparently allmighty doctors could still fail on a regular basis and normally just when it became important that they did not fail. When he saw his first magical healing on his very first day of school thanks to an unfortunate accident with a vengeful cupboard (the school healer just flipped his wand twice and his nose was back on), he found his calling. During his school education and healer training, he had to learn, that not everything was as easy as re-attaching a nose, and especially that even magical healing had its limits, but it still vexed him.

Reaching the waiting area, he was about to call for his patient's family when he saw that there was only one person there. The teenager was pacing back and forth between the rows of seats. He was tall but rather thin with messy black hair, his fringe so long, that it almost fell into his eyes. When he saw Healer Berns, he rushed towards him with a mixed expression of hope and despair. "Ginny Weasley? Please, are you her healer? I brought her here about 90 minutes ago, she had hit her head on some rocks and was unconscious." "Yes, I treating Miss Weasley. My name is Healer Berns. Are you a family member? What's your name?"

There was a slight pause. "I am her boyfriend, but there are no family members of her close by; we are travelling. Her brother is in Australia, too, but he is not in Sidney right now and I don't know, when he will be back. We are from Britain." "Yes, I can hear that. Well, in this case, I will talk to you now and send the information to her family later. Is she of age?" "Yes, she turned 17 a few month ago." "All right. Please come to my office so we can talk. What was your name again?" Another pause. "Harry".

In his office, Healer Berns explained current condition of his patient. "Basically, she has amnesia. She has lost all her personal memories, while her general knowledge remained intact. For example, she should be able to perform any spells that she knew before the accident, but without knowing how and when she learned them." He watched Harry's face during his explanation. It seemed familiar somehow, but he could not remember where he had seen it before. "Can you do anything about that?" The frown on his face returned. "No. You have to understand that the circumstances are special in Miss Weasley's case. She hit her head on a rock covered with a certain kind of moss, which is the basic ingredient of a memory-loss potion. Now, had the amnesia been caused only by the head injury, we could have healed her within a few days. Had she taken the potion, we could have prepared the antidote and healed her that way. But as she simultaneously had a head injury and traces of the moss came into her blood cycle, her amnesia was caused by a combination of both. We can't cure it. We think that her brain will eventually cure itself if she just continues with her normal life. It is important for her recovery that she is in her familiar surroundings and especially that she avoids shocks as much as possible, because that would occupy her brain's healing capacities too much and slow down the memory repair." Harry's face had remained immobile during the first part of his explanation, but at the last sentence, he made a grimace. "Lead her normal life, but avoid shocks? That might be some kind of a problem." "And why is that?"

Harry gave a heavy sigh. "Healer … excuse me, what was your name?" - "Berns". "Oh, yes, I am sorry. Healer Berns, how much do you know about what has been going on in Britain during the last years?" That gave Healer Berns a pause. "We have read about the rise of the dark wizard called You-Know-Who and the war in Britain. He has been defeated a few months ago by Harry Potter and wizarding Britain is being rebuilt. There were not that many details in the news coverage here. Is that a problem? Has her normal routine been disrupted by the war? She is so young; certainly she has been protected against most of the evil going on." "We made sure that most of the details were kept from the press, but those details are the problem here. See, not only has her school been run by deatheaters during the last year, the final battle took place there and Ginny and her family played a very important part in the whole business." Besides all this astonishing information, there was one little word in Harry's speach, that stood out to Healer Berns. "We?" The teenager seemed to suddenly grow larger and change from a fearful boy looking for information about his injured girlfriend from her healer to a confident young man with authority in his voice. "I did not introduce myself properly, Healer Berns. I am Harry Potter."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking behind Healer Berns to Ginny's room, Harry gave a weary sight. It had taken some lengthy explanations and an in-depth examination of his scar to convince the healer that he really was Harry Potter. After that he had wanted to know what happened exactly during the downfall of Voldemort and what Britain's most famous war hero was doing in Australia. Harry had had to walk a fine line between giving him all the information that might be useful for Ginny's recovery and not revealing what the Order of Phoenix and the DA did not want the general public to know about Riddle's death. So he had told him what he knew about the circumstances in Hogwarts since last September, generously skipped the Battle and explained how they had spent the last month between rebuilding Hogwarts, attending memorial services and funerals for the fallen and celebrations of the new peace, helping to reorganize the ministry and standing as witnesses during the trials of the surviving deatheaters.

All the time they had kept a watchful eye out for deatheaters on the run, whose favourite targets Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys had been. Just two weeks ago, the last of the known deatheaters had been caught and they had all been very much relieved. Hermione, who had been afraid that her parents might be targeted, too, when she brought them back, had immediately decided to go to Australia as soon as possible to get them. After a few days of making travel arrangements and convincing Mrs. Weasley to let the four of them go on their own, they had left for Australia. Arriving in Sidney, where Hermione had sent her parents, the discovered that they were not there anymore. Frantically, she had contracted a muggle private detective who found out that they had opened a dentist practice in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Two days ago Hermione had left to find them and reawaken their real memories. She had wanted to go alone, but Ron, of course, wouldn't let her. So Harry and Ginny stayed behind in Sidney alone. Today, they went to visit a wizard park outside of Sidney and there the accident happened.

Healer Berns stopped in front of Room 442 and turned to Harry. "We healed the cut on her head and the concussion so there won't be any evidence of the accident. She had not awakened when I examined her and the spell on her room would have informed us if she had in between, so she should still be unconscious. I will wake her now and you will have to help keep her as quiet and unstressed as possible. Remember what I told you, give her simple and clear answers to any questions she might ask, and avoid mentioning things, that might upset her." Harry grimaced again. How was that supposed to work?


	2. Chapter 2: Waking Up

Disclaimer: Still JK Rowling's, not mine, but I keep hoping.

Waking Up

Slowly, her awareness returned. It was like rising from the bottom of a dark lake to the surface, towards the light. First, there was only a vague sense of direction and of urgency, then she noticed slight sounds, then presences around her, and voices. Then, suddenly, she was awake. Her eyes flew open, she noticed unknown surroundings and two strangers close to her, and began to panic. Her hand automatically went to where she normally kept her wand, but found nothing. What the …? She grasped the first thing she could reach (a bottle of water) and raised it threateningly at the closer stranger.

"Where am I? Who are you? How did I come here? Where is … Who … What …?" The last words grew steadily quieter as she noticed something even more worrisome than waking up in a strange room. She had wanted to ask for someone, someone important, but she could not remember who. Neither did she recall where she had been before loosing her consciousness or what she had been doing. Or … who she was. Who am I??? She shrieked the question inside her own head. What happened? WHO AM I? But no sound came over her lips. Don't give them any advantages, a small voice inside her seemed to warn her.

"Please relax, young lady, there is no need to worry. Relax. You are in a hospital, in the Morganza Clinicum in Sidney, to be more precise. I am Healer Berns. You were brought here by this young man, Harry Potter, because you hit your head on some rocks and lost consciousness." The words slowly penetrated her panic. A hospital? Yes, the room looked like a hospital room, she noticed as she looked around. Harry? Her eyes flew to the second person in the room. He had unruly and rather long black hair. His eyes were green and he was watching her intensely. Despite the situation she felt a slight reaction to the intensity of his gaze. Did she know him? She judged him to be on the tall side and in very good shape, although he was not heavily built. More a seeker's built, she thought.

Suddenly she noticed that the other man had continued to talk while she assessed this … Harry. He was using a lot of medical terms and since she had missed the first part of his speech due to her panic and had been distracted during the most recent one, she had trouble following. "Excuse me? What is wrong with me? What happened?" He stopped talking for a moment. Then, slowly, he explained again. "You incurred an open head injury due to which you had a concussion and parts of a plant called Durmicitum got into your blood. This combination caused amnesia. Do you remember anything at all about yourself?" She drew a deep breath, trying not to panic again, trying to recall anything – Merlin, anything! – about herself. Nothing came up. After another breath, she raised her eyes towards the two men in the room. "Who am I?"

The healer looked as if he would answer, but Harry (Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry? her brain was constantly searching for something familiar) was faster. "You are Ginny. Ginerva Myriel Weasley is your full name, but you hate to be called Ginerva and calling you Myriel would be absolutely suicidal. You are 17 years old. Your parents are Molly and Arthur Weasley and you have … a lot of older brothers. Your family lives close to a village called Ottery St. Catchpole in England and you will start your 7th and last year at Hogwarts soon. You have come to Australia with your brother Ron, his girlfriend Hermione and me to get Hermione's parents home." She listened very carefully, trying to connect to something he was telling her, but nothing was even slightly familiar.

"And who are you?" He made another small pause. "I am Harry and I am your boyfriend." "Oh …" She gave him a closer look. He _was_ rather good locking and the concern in his eyes was what she would expect from her boyfriend, generally speaking. She supposed it could have been a lot worse, but was still uncomfortable to discover she had a boyfriend she could not remember. Trying to diffuse her anxiety, she gave him a small smile. "And how is my taste in men?" Grinning, he seemed to relax for a second. "Not nearly as good as my taste in women. You are way to good for me."

Please Review!!!


	3. Chapter 3: Shaping Experiences

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

AN: Thanks for the reviews, that is really encouraging. And you were right.

Shaping Experiences

Harry took one last, concerned look at Ginny before leaving the room behind the healer. As they had agreed upon before, he had given her no more than the basic facts about her live. It was important not to overwhelm her with information about someone basically unknown to her right now, not to mention what kind of story he would have to break to her without upsetting her too much.

He had noticed that she had looked at him quizzically after the healer had mentioned his name, but had not seemed to be overly excited or star struck, so she probably did not recognize his name as that of the Boy Who Lived. Healer Berns had explained before that whether or not she remembered something would depend on how personally involved she had been. So she would probably remember that there had been a war but not what went on in Howarts at that time or how exactly the war had ended. While Harry knew that she had known the story of his first defeat of Voldemort before she met him, it was apparently a very personal and emotional memory for her, so she did not remember. She had fancied herself in love at that time and she had really fallen in love with him later. Either of two things might have affected her memory.

After their little exchange about her taste in men, the healer had explained again how her special case prevented healing by normal magical methods, but that they expected her to make a full recovery on her own in time. He had asked her to try not to get agitated and to call for a nurse if she felt too anxious or stressed. After that he had excused them to give her some time for herself while Harry and he would inform her family.

Harry had not wanted to make their "first" meeting so short and leave before he was sure that she would cope but Healer Berns had insisted. "I can see how concerned about her you are, which is perfectly normal. But if you want to help her recover her memory, you have to stop acting towards her as you did towards your girlfriend. She is not the young woman anymore that she was this morning. Of course she has the same predispositions, but that's not everything. Our experiences shape us just as much, if not more. Her reactions to anything might be changed, because she is now missing the experiences that directed her behaviour and thoughts before and that is especially true for people she knew. Right now, you are a stranger to her, and an unsafe one, because you claim a relationship to her she has no memory of. You remaining in her room, possibly alone with her, would add to her stress level. It would certainly prevent her from examining her feelings and coming to terms with the situation."

Harry was shocked. "Not Ginny anymore? But she is Ginny! She has her own sense of humour. She has just lost her memory." "But that memory is a big part of who she is. I don't say that she is a totally different person or that she will not return to be the Ginny you know when her memory comes back, but right now you cannot expect her to react like your Ginny. Especially, you cannot expect her to have the same needs concerning her boyfriend as before, such as wanting you with her when she is distressed. Right now, she needs time alone. And as for when her memory returns, she might see some things with different eyes due to the new experience of loosing her memory. This is an extreme experience for everyone involved and it will certainly leave a mark. I am sorry, but you will have to adjust for her sake."

He hung his head. Everything the healer said sounded logical but he still wished he could have stayed with her and made sure she was ok. Harry straightened again. It could not be about what he wished right now, but about what Ginny needed. And anyway, he would have to talk to the Weasleys after Healer Berns explained what had happened and to reassure them as much as possible. They would want to be with her at once, of course, which was not only impossible (travelling around the earth required some time and preparation, even for wizards), but would also add to Ginny's confusion and to the risk of her hearing things she was not prepared for yet.

For now, Healer Berns had instructed the nurses that nobody besides Harry, the healer himself and one nurse were allowed to enter Ginny's room and that the nurse could not talk to her about anything regarding recent events in Britain, redirecting any questions of Ginny's to Harry and Healer Berns. When other people entered the picture, they would have to plan and monitor very carefully who told her what and when. The Weasleys would have to understand and accept the healer's rules before any ICFC could be arranged with their daughter.

An ICFC (inter-continental floo call, a term Harry had heard for the first time before leaving for Australia) was only possible through special fireplaces usually available at the Ministry of Magic. One had to floo the ministery and register for it. Then a ministry official connected your fireplace to the local ICFF (inter-continental floo fireplace) and started a connection to the ICFF of the Ministry of the desired country. Another ministry official there informed the receiver of the ICFC and then connected his or her fireplace to their local ICFF.

That was the theory. Practically, one usually had to register some days in advance or wait at the fireplace for a few hours to get a connection. Emergency ICFCs however, such as a healer wanting to inform relatives of an accident, had priority. They had registered before they went to Ginny and would get a connection within a few minutes.

Review, please?


	4. Chapter 4: Conversations

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is not mine.

Conversations

Harry waited in the background as Healer Berns spoke to the Weasleys. He had insisted on being the one to tell them what happened in the beginning of the ICFC to spare them as much distress as possible. As he had expected, Molly (she and Arthur had insisted on being called by their first names after the battle) had been very much upset first, bordering on hysteria. Loosing one of her sons had made her even more protective of her other children. But after a few moments of assurance that Ginny was not dying and would very probably recover fully from Harry and some calming words from Arthur, she had calmed down and concentrated on what she could do to help. That was when Harry had handed over to the healer who explained the medical details and what was necessary for Ginny's recovery.

The Weasleys had argued not coming to Australia at once first, but had given in eventually and consented to stay in Britain for the time being. In the meantime, Mr. Weasley could initiate travel arrangements at the ministry; either for the Weasley's to Australia or for Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and the Grangers to Britain, depending on what was deemed more appropriate by the healers. He would also register for daily ICFCs so they could be kept updated.

Now Harry was returning to the fireplace to. "I can't say how sorry I am, Molly, Arthur. I was just a short distance away, but I was not fast enough to catch her."

"Oh Harry, this is not your fault. If anybody could have caught her, you would have. And we know that you probably have done more than is humanly possible to get her to a hospital at once." Harry was blushing slightly at this. Apparating to an unknown place with an unconscious girl in his arms had seemed the most normal thing in the world at that time, but while worrying and waiting for somebody to tell him what was wrong with Ginny, he had also taken about three seconds to wonder how he managed that.

Arthur added to his wife's reassurances: "We are sure that you will be doing everything you can to help her now. This has to be hard for you, too, not being able to talk to Ginny as you normally do and concealing most of her own past from her for her own good."

"Knowing that this is the best help I can give her will help _me_ to keep it together. Don't worry about me. Ron and Hermione will probably get in contact soon. I imagine Ron will probably come back at once when he hears what has happened to Ginny."

Molly gave him a watery smile. "As much as I would like to have my baby close by so that I can nurse her myself, it was a blessing in disguise that this has not happened here."

"What's wrong?" Harry was so used to troubles, he was instantly alert.

"Don't worry, it is nothing that bad, only … well it seems as if some of the so called journalists have turned bold due to your absence and have returned to their old ways. Rita Skeeter, especially, has written two articles about your … social life in Witches Weekly. In one of them she implies that Ginny is a gold digger going after "Britain's most wanted bachelor". The other … well, you know what kind of stories she writes. It would have been very hard to shield Ginny from all this here."

Harry grounded his teeth in anger. The day after the battle, reporters had swarmed Hogwarts. Kingsley had organized a press conference, trying to get across the facts the Order and the DA had agreed upon, which they had deemed necessary for the reassurance of the public. After the 5th question ignoring his statement and pestering Harry about his hero-status, his plans for the future, and if he was currently going out with someone, Harry had lost his temper. "There are more than 30 people in the great hall, who died yesterday in order to give us a chance for a life in peace and freedom, regardless if we are pure-bloods, half-bloods, muggle-borns or muggles and we will probably never know exactly how many people were murdered during the last year. We stand at the threshold of a new era with the chance to improve our ways so something like the rise of Voldemort will not happen again. And all you are interested in is if I am going out with someone? Every one of you who failed to inform the public of what has happened last year had his share in the disaster, is accessary to the murders. Why should anyone be interested in what you write if it is gossip at its best and lies or dark propaganda at its worst? If you don't start covering the important news, it is only a matter of time before the news system is overturned and the public finds new ways to get to know what is happening."

He did not know if they felt real shame at that moment or if his last words had been interpreted as a threat to their jobs, but the news had focused on more important matters after that, covering the re-structuring of the ministry and leaving his private life mostly alone. Now it seemed that that period of grace was over.

"Well, I hope that the Australian news will find those rumours uninteresting, given that nobody here knows who Ginny is and few people know more about me than my name and that I helped to kill Riddle." He never understood fully why people were so interested in him in Britain anyway.

"Yes, hopefully. All right, I will arrange everything with the ministry and book ICFC slots for the next few days, so we can keep in contact. We will talk to you tomorrow." Arthur pulled back from the fireplace.

"Take care of yourself and of Ginny, Harry." Molly vanished too and the purple flames went back to their normal colour.

…………………………

Ginny was sitting in her bed, propped up against the head board with a pillow when Harry and Healer Berns re-entered the room. "How are you feeling, my dear?" Healer Berns had put a cheerful smile on his face that Harry would have found more worrisome than reassuring, had he been in Ginny's position. "I hope the period of quiet did you some good and you haven't worried yourself too much?"

"I have been trying to keep myself as calm as possible." Was there a hint of sarcasm in her voice? Harry hoped so, it would be so typical for his Ginny – but he should not think of her as his right now. "I have tried to organize my thought a little and found that I have loads of questions I want to ask. I know you said not too much at once, but I really think you should answer some of them – to reduce my stress-level." Her innocent smile at these words gave Harry another burst of hope. Not my Ginny! he reminded himself sternly. But at least no a total stranger! something inside him was answering.

Healer Berns, not knowing her as Harry did, smiled back. "Of course, my dear, if it is just a few questions … Now, will you be comfortable if I go on my usual rounds and leave you alone with Harry? You could talk for half an hour and then visiting hours will be over, anyway. Oh, and we have arranged for an ICFC with your parents by tomorrow."

"Thank you. Yes, I will be fine with Harry here." Another innocent smile from her, and the healer left the room.

Harry pulled up a chair to her bed; close, but not too close. "Now, what would you like to know first? Healer Berns said that I could tell you everything that won't stress you too much."

She looked directly into his eyes. "That might be some kind of a problem as I am most interested in the things that have made my life so stressful that you think you have to hide it from me."

.................

AN: I have done a lot of changes in this document and can only hope that I managed to find all the mistakes now ...

Thanks for the reviews and please review some more!


	5. Chapter 5: How Important Could I Have Be

Disclaimer: If you haven't noticed by now, this is fanfiction and accordingly, not mine.

How Important Could I Have Been???

Merlin! Harry was so shocked he could not even swear properly. There he had listened carefully to all the healer had said about experiences and how Ginny might be different because she could not remember and had prepared himself mentally to deal with a different Ginny and to not resent her for not being his Ginny – and due to all this he had neglected to prepare for the most probable possibility: that she might react exactly how Ginny would have reacted before the accident, wanting to know what was going on and hating to be excluded from anything concerning her.

For half a minute he did not reply, frenetically working on the best way to deal with this. His first instinct was to tell her everything. Healer Berns had said she should avoid being stressed and she was clearly stressed now. But what if the truth caused more harm then not knowing anything? If only the healer had not gone, he could have made that call.

Coming to a decision, Harry looked earnestly at Ginny and took a deep breath. "Look. You have heard what Healer Berns said about the consequences of stress …"

"I could not be more stressed by the truth than about being kept in the dark! I …"

"Let me finish! I don't know what would be causing more stress to you. Judging from my knowledge of you, I would say that not knowing is worse, but what if I am wrong? So, I will try to find the happy medium and tell you some general facts, but you have to promise me that you stop me as soon as it is too much, ok? Promise me."

Ginny would have promised anything to get him to talk. "I promise."

"All right. How much do you remember about recent events in Britain?"

She knit her brows about that. "There was a war … You-know-who regained power, killed a lot of people and manage to take over the Ministry of Magic. But … he was killed recently, wasn't he? I don't remember how it ended, but he was defeated at last."

"Yes. He recovered his power 3 years ago. For the first year very few people knew he was back, because the minister of magic denied it and used the press to discredit the people who said otherwise. He worked in secret to expand his power and gain supporters, organising prison break-outs of his followers in Azkaban and sending envoys to the giants and so on. Then he was seen at the ministry by too many people to hush it. He started working openly, spreading terror and trying to eliminate those of whom he knew that they were trying to fight him. A year ago, he took over the ministry, although he used a puppet minister. His enemies had to go into hiding or to pretend to fall in with the new regime. He put his twisted view of the world into laws against muggle-borns and made sure to place his trusted followers at Hogwarts. But some people still resisted. In the end there was a big battle and he was finally defeated and died."

"Maybe I did not know all the details, but this is not exactly news to me either. What does it have to do with my memories?"

"Well, yes, the thing is … you were involved the resistance against him, almost from the beginning, and your family was, too. Therefore, you … let a very interesting life in the last few years. Lot's of dangerous situations. It makes quite a story. That's why we are worried you will get too stressed if we tell it all to you at once. Do you understand?"

Ginny blinked at him. "No, I don't. I mean, I am glad to hear I fought against him, but what can I have done, kill him myself? Organise the resistance at school? Make the world see he was back? How important could I have been, I still go to school for Merlin's sake!"

A wry smile flew over Harry's face. "That has certainly never stopped us from getting into dangerous situations!" Then he turned earnest again. "Just believe me, Ginny, that your life during the last few years was exciting enough to warrant a slow pace in telling it to anybody and especially to the protagonist of the story, who has lost her memories and should not get upset. I don't want to keep it all from you, just … go very slowly. Can you accept that?"

"I guess I have no other choice." She grimaced.

* * *

AN: Thanks for the reviews. I apoligise for misspelling Sydney, that is really embarassing! Also, I have been informed that Ginny's second name is Molly, not Myriel. I was not aware that a second name is mentioned in the books, so I simply tried to find something probable that she would hate to be called (no offence to the Myriels out there, it is just the reference to her aunt she dislikes).

I hope you enjoyed this chapter (short as it is) and would really be motivated by a few reviews for it!


	6. Chapter 6: Nightmares, Wands and Family

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to JKR.

Nightmares, Wands and Family

Harry entered Ginny's room as soon as visitor hours started the next morning. He had had a bad night, first being unable to fall asleep due to worry, then dreams which were not nightmares but rather exhausting. He had woken up early and worried some more, before he prepared for the day, which he intended to spend entirely at the hospital. He had packed a bag for Ginny to take to the hospital and left a message at the reception of their accommodation for Ron and Hermione, in case they flooed today. He had tried to make it as reassuring as possible, but Ron would probably freak out anyway. Therefore Harry had also talked to the receptionist at the hospital to make sure that Ron did not just barged into Ginny's room and alarm her, but was briefed by a healer first about how to behave.

Harry knocked politely and found Ginny standing at the window, wearing a bathrobe and pyjamas, which were obviously loans from the hospital. On a little table next to the window was a breakfast plate. She had apparently started to eat, but had lost her appetite in the middle of the meal. Harry tried a cheerful smile. "Good morning, Ginny. How did you sleep?"

She turned slowly and raised her eyebrows. "Not too bad, except for the several times I woke up from nightmares I could not remember and reached for a wand which was not there." Harry meant to recognise a slightly reproachful tone under the sarcasm, but maybe that were his own feelings of guilt talking. He had woken up from nightmares himself lots of times after the battle, gripping his wand and ready to jinx the first thing that moved. Not finding his wand would have done nothing to calm him in such a situation. When it was a bad nightmare (which was not too often, the fact that he had defeated Voldemort seemed to have calmed his anxiety), he got up and went to the kitchen of the Burrow. Sometimes he encountered Ginny there. They had never talked about their respective reasons for being there in the middle of the night, but he always assumed that she was waking up from nightmares too, and hers were probably worse than his. He had forgotten to prepare her for that possibility yesterday evening!

"Er … I am sorry to hear that. Your wand is in the nightstand, in the bottom drawer. They gave it to me when they took you away for examining and Healer Berns told me to put it at a place where you could not reach it too fast before he woke you up. Apparently some people start hexing first and ask questions later when they wake up at a strange place surrounded by strange people …" He was attempting a little humour, but was not entirely successful. "I meant to tell you before leaving yesterday evening, but then I got distracted by your questions. Sorry."

Ginny went straight to the drawer and took out her wand. Then she seemed to relax a little. "I thought they might have taken it away and did not intend to give it back till I recovered my memory … I did not even ask the mediwitch who brought my breakfast this morning, because I did not want to hear the answer."

"Yes, I understand. Sorry again."

Ginny returned to her breakfast. "Why don't you sit down with me? Have you had breakfast? This is a lot of food for one person."

Harry grinned. "Your mother is always trying to feed me, too. I have had breakfast, but I wouldn't mind some more." And he sat down on the second chair, relieved to have mastered the first crisis of the day.

After they had finished eating, Ginny looked at him expectantly. "Can you tell me some more about me?"

"Sure. But do you want to go outside? The mediwitch suggested that we could go for a walk in the garden. It is a nice day."

"Nice, yes, but it seems a little cold outside and I don't have anything to wear. What happened to my clothes, by the way? I assume I wore something when I arrived here?" There was a slightly flirting tone in her voice. Harry could feel heat rush into his cheeks.

"I assume your coat is in the closet. They gave me the rest of your clothes for washing and told me to bring back a small bag with your stuff in the morning. Which", he gesticulated towards the door, where he had left it, "I did."

"Oh, great. Wait here, while I dress." She took the bag and vanished into the bathroom.

……………………….

The garden was surprisingly big for the crowded area the hospital was located in, but then Harry had gotten used to things like this in the last few years and Ginny had no idea in which kind of area they were in, so none of them was really surprised. They chose a path that seemed to lead around the garden and started walking. Harry refrained himself from taking her hand, as he would have done normally and instead put them in his coat pockets.

"My parents are calling today, aren't they? Tell me something about them. I was not really paying attention to what you said about them yesterday." She had decided yesterday evening after he had left to go easy on him with her questions in the morning.

"Well, your mother, Molly, is … the ultimate mother figure, I would say. She is always trying to feed everyone, which is not hard for her, because her cooking is just great. She is very active and loves to have the house full of her children and their friends and `mollycoddles´ whoever she has accepted as part of the family. Sometimes that gets too much, but most of the time it is just great. Ah … she is rather small, with red hair – all the Weasleys have red hair, they are famous for it – and looks like a very nice person, which she is. Unless she is angry at somebody, then she looks like a sable tooth tiger. You have inherited her temper." And he smiled at Ginny. She could hear how much he loved her mother and while that made her feel good (who would not want to have such a great mother that even your boyfriend loves her), she wondered if he had problems with his own family. "Your father is great, too. He is much calmer than your mother and much less strict. Everyone likes him. He works at the British Ministry of Magic. He used to lead the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, which was quite fitting for him, because he is fascinated with muggles, and unfitting, because he likes to experiment with muggle things himself. He had a flying car once and … well, that is a long story. Right now there are a lot of open posts at the Ministry and they don't have too many good and experienced people to fill them, so it is open if he can remain in his position or has to fill another one. He would, if they need him to, but he loved his work at the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, so … well, we don't know yet. Right now, there is so much going on, that everyone does more and different things than before the war. Arthur is taller than your mother, with red hair, too, of course. Well, what else … it is quite difficult to describe your own parents to you, imagining that this is all new to you! They are both very competent wizards when they need to be, but they tend to stay low-key, they like it better that way. Which does not say that they are not proud of every single thing their children have done and are still doing, and the recognition they get. They just … prefer not to make a big deal out of their own accomplishments, do you understand?"

Ginny smiled and tried to imagine her parents. They sounded so nice in his description. She could almost see their faces in her mind, almost … Frustrated, she gave up. "Yes, I think so … what about the rest of my family, you said I have brothers? How many?" From Harry's face, she could tell that she had touched another topic which might `upset´ her. She grew anxious. Was something wrong with her brothers? She did not even know them, but she felt a fierce protectiveness towards her family rise from within her.

He hesitated a second then seemed to come to a decision. "Six."

Ginny was distracted from her worry by the sheer number of them. "Six brothers? Wow. I am the youngest, right?" She did not remember whether he told her that or not, but she was sure of it. Then something else occurred to her. "Well, I must say, you have to be quite brave to get yourself a girlfriend with six older brothers. How did you survive?" She was grinning widely now. Out of six, there were surely at least two or three overprotective ones to make trouble for Harry. Why that amused her, she could not say.

"Well … they knew me a long time before I became your boyfriend and they like me … I was basically part of the family even before we got together … and as I said, you have your mother's temper and do not like to be treated like a child … but I won't deny that I have faced more than my share of `hurt her and we will kill you´ talks." He shuddered as he thought of a particular frightening one of these conversations with Charlie. He seemed like the most easygoing person possible, but apparently he had learned a lot about protecting the family from the dragons he studied – and now that Harry thought about it that was probably where the brutally effective intimidation tactics came from, too.

"Tell me about my brothers, please."

Harry gave a weary sight. "All right."

* * *

AN: I hope you liked the chapter and please review.


End file.
